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Press headlines and tips: Animalcare, Spirit Pub Co, Vodafone

Our summary of all the shares tipped by the quality papers on Saturday and Sunday
January 14, 2013

Welcome to our summary of the weekend's quality press tips, provided on Mondays by Weekend City Press Review.

PRESS TIPS:

The Times

Tempus: Martin Waller thinks the weaker UK economic outlook could lead to some profit shocks among FTSE 250 companies in the forthcoming reporting season, although blue-chips are less likely to be affected because of their global sources of profits.

The Independent

No Pain, No Gain: Derek Pain is hopeful that veterinary group Animalcare (Last IC view: Hold, 20 Feb 2012), recruited at 171p but currently trading at about 145p, should have a better year following its decision to reintroduce cat and dog painkiller Buprecare to the market in ampoule form.

The Daily Mail

■ Investment Extra: Ian Lyall reviews the most popular investment strategies used by private investors, suggesting that the 'high-yield' approach would have made the best returns last year followed by one that focused on 'cash-rich' quoted companies.

The Sunday Times

Inside the City: Danny Fortson says sell Spirit Pub Company (Last IC view: Buy, 16 Oct 2012), 65p, as it is still saddled by the debt taken on when it was spun out of Punch Taverns (Last IC view: Sell, 12 Apr 2012) in 2011 and there appears little upside for investors.

Resolution (Last IC view: Buy, 16 Aug 2011) is starting to appear on the radar of fund managers looking to move out of bonds, especially for its 8.3 per cent yield.

The Sunday Telegraph

Questor: Garry White says buy Vodafone (Last IC view: Buy, 4 Jan 2013), 165p, for income rather than growth.

Hold Marks and Spencer (Last IC view: Hold, 6 Nov 2012), 372.5p, on hopes of a recovery in clothing sales.

The Mail on Sunday

Midas: Joanne Hart says buy Travis Perkins (Last IC view: Hold, 26 Jul 2012), £12.18, for long-term potential while it should also benefit from the hoped-for economic recovery.

Update: Hold Majestic Wine (Last IC view: Hold, 19 Nov 2012), tipped in January 2011 at 406p and now 429p, even after a 'lacklustre' level of Christmas trading.

  

Business press headlines courtesy of Weekend City Press Review:

Billions pumped into global equities

Equity funds enjoyed their best week for more than five years with $22.2bn invested in the week to 9 January, the second highest figure since comparable data was first collected in 1996. Much of the expansion was driven by record inflows into emerging market and world funds, with analysts suggesting it was the start of the anticipated switch from ‘safe haven’ government bonds into riskier equities.[Financial Times p.1]

Lloyds chief in line for £4m bonus

Lloyds Banking Group CEO António Horta-Osório could receive a £4.4m bonus this year because of the doubling of the bank’s share price aver the past 12 months. The payout, if agreed by the board, could reignite the row over bank bonuses, although Lloyds decided on Friday to again freeze basic pay for its top 500 employees.[Sunday Times p.3.1]

Jaguar defies gloom with 800 new jobs

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s Tata Motors, is to create 800 new jobs at its Solihull factory to meet strong demand for its upmarket car brands in China, the US and Russia. The news follows Honda UK’s announcement last week of 800 job losses at its Swindon plant because of falling eurozone demand for new cars.[Sunday Times pp.3.1, 3.8]

Hands bounces back with two energy deals

Guy Hands is seeking to raise £1.7bn from the sale of assets controlled by Terra Firma Capital Partners as part of efforts to recoup the ‘huge losses’ from the ‘bungled buyout’ of EMI. Northern Ireland gas distributor Phoenix is up for sale at £700m, along with green energy business Infinis which could fetch at least £1bn.[Sunday Times p.3.1]

Sterling set to slide as trade gap widens

Economists believe that sterling is in danger of sliding in value this year because of the deteriorating UK balance of payments position, likely to be the worst for more than two decades. Figures in the coming weeks are expected to show the current account deficit rose to £54bn last year – about 3.5 per cent of GDP - which was described by Royal Bank of Scotland economist Ross Walker as ‘potentially unsustainable’.[Sunday Times p.3.2]

Next boss backs PM on Europe

Next CEO Lord Wolfson has supported David Cameron’s EU strategy, arguing that business should have ‘nothing to fear’ from renegotiation of the terms of the UK’s relationship with Europe. The Prime Minister has also received support from the British Chambers of Commerce over renegotiation of EU membership.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]

Lloyds sacks two over ‘rogue trader’ scam

Lloyds Banking Group has dismissed two employees in its investment banking arm for being involved in a scheme to hide trading losses and boost bonuses. Franck Kormann, head of hybrid foreign exchange and interest rate trading, was sacked last February, while another member of staff was also dismissed. Details of the falsification of trading records were passed to the Financial Services Authority, although no further action was taken.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]

Esso and Shell face allegations of ‘predatory pricing’ over fuel cost

The Office of Fair Trading is investigating claims by independent petrol stations that Royal Dutch Shell and Esso have engaged in ‘predatory pricing’ to protect stations owned by the oil companies themselves. The OFT is expected to report its findings within the next few weeks.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]

US equity firm enters the Auto Trader battle

Hellman & Friedman, the US private equity firm, has joined the £1.8bn auction for control of Trader Media Group, jointly owned by Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group. Apax is seeking to buy out GMG’s stake in Trader, which owns used car website Autotrader.co.uk, although it could be trumped by a higher offer from Hellman.[Sunday Telegraph p.B1]